2025 in African music

See also: Timeline of musical events

The following is a list of events and releases that happened in 2025 in African music.

Albums released

• Amaarae –Black Star ^[1]
• Black Sherif – Iron Boy ^[2]
• BNXN –Captain ^[3]
• Burna Boy –No Sign of Weakness ^[4]
• Davido – 5ive ^[5]
• Gyakie –After Midnight ^[6]
• Qing Madi –I Am The Blueprint ^[7]
• Moonchild Sanelly –Full Moon ^[8]

Deaths

• January 9 (date death announced) – Doc Shebeleza, 51, South African kwaito musician ^[9]
• January 14 – Teddy Osei, 87, Ghanaian saxophone player, drummer and vocalist (Osibisa) ^[10]
• March 13 – Yallunder, 30, South African afro-soul singer-songwriter ^[11]
• April 4 – Amadou Bagayoko, 70, Malian musician (Amadou & Mariam) ^[12]
• May 16 – Dada KD (Nana Kwakye Duah), 56, Ghanaian highlife musician ^[13]
• May 25 – Foday Musa Suso, 75, Gambian musician and composer ^[14]
• June 6 – "Gentleman" Mike Ejeagha, 95, Nigerian folklorist, highlife musician and songwriter ^[15]
• June 13 – Louis Moholo, 85, South African jazz drummer (The Blue Notes, Brotherhood of Breath, Assagai) ^[16]
• July 26 – Daddy Lumba, 60, Ghanaian highlife singer-songwriter ^[17]
• August 13 – Rachid Ferhani, 80, Algerian Kabyle singer ^[18]
• August 24 – Khaled Louma, 70, Algerian musician and radio presenter ^[19]

See also

• 2025 in music

References

1. "Amaarae Reclaims the Dance Floor With Bold New Album Black Star". Indie Sound. August 8, 2025.
2. Nwaokolo, Nneamaka. "Black Sherif Is Honest on "Iron Boy" but Hesitates to Evolve". Unorthodox Reviews. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
3. "BNXN New Album 'Captain': Most Vulnerable Afrobeats Release | OkayAfrica". www.okayafrica.com. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
4. Heran Mamo (17 December 2024). "Burna Boy Announces Eighth Album 'No Sign of Weakness' & New Single 'Bundle by Bundle'". Billboard. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
5. Conteh, Mankaprr (2024-12-05). "Davido Announces New Album '5ive' With Single 'Funds': 'Isn't Just About Money'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 2024-12-06.
6. "Gyakie unveils her debut album 'After Midnight'". Ghanaweb. 31 August 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
7. "Afrobeats icons and the rising stars set to redefine music in 2025". rain. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
8. Skinner, Tom (8 October 2024). "Moonchild Sanelly announces new album Full Moon with single "Do My Dance" and 2025 UK and Ireland tour". NME. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
9. "Legendary kwaito star Doc Shebeleza has died". TimesLive. 9 January 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
10. Mark Wilberforce (16 January 2025). "Ghanaian music legend who founded Afro-rock band Osibisa dies". BBC News. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
11. Hlalane, Reabetswe (15 March 2025). "Singer-Songwriter Yolanda Yallunder Nyembezi Passes Away at 30". OkMzansi. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
12. "Des milliers de personnes réunies à Bamako pour les funérailles du chanteur Amadou Bagayoko". francetvinfo.fr (in French). 7 April 2025. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
13. Ofori, Jonathan (17 May 2025). "Ghanaian highlife star Dada KD passes away at 56". Asaase Radio. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
14. "A tribute to Jali Foday Susso: Custodian of the Kora, voice of Manding, pride of The Gambia". Standard. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
15. "Highlife maestro Mike Ejeagha dies at 95". Vanguard. 7 June 2025. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
16. "Louis Moholo-Moholo, legendary drummer, dies aged 85". Timeslive. 2025-06-13.
17. "Ghanaian icon Daddy Lumba Passes Away at 60". Ghana Music. July 26, 2025.
18. Benmokhtar, ouamar (14 August 2025). "L'artiste Rachid Ferhani n'est plus". L'Algérie Aujourd'hui (in French). Retrieved 15 August 2025.
19. "Khaled Louma, pionnier du rock algérien, est mort". Le Monde (in French). 26 August 2025. Retrieved 26 August 2025.